Protector
by BroomballKraken
Summary: Brady was happy. Happy that everyone he loved was alive in this timeline, and he would be fighting tooth and nail to keep it that way. Brady/Cynthia


When every new battle started in their struggle to build a better future, Brady was reminded how much he hated fighting. His brow furrowed in concentration as he cast a physic on Vaike, who had neglected to notice a Risen attacking from behind, and he had took a sword blow that left a nasty gash on his back. Brady's healing spell managed to stop the luckily small amount of bleeding, and Vaike turned to yell out a thanks before charging back into the fray.

Brady sighed and went back to surveying the battlefield, looking for any signs of his allies being in trouble. Their group made a hell of an army, but some people were too reckless for their own good. Sure, everyone made it out alive in the end so far, but Brady did not want to see the day when someone did not. Especially when one of those someones was the love of his life.

He spotted Cynthia across the field and grimaced when she jumped off of her pegasus, backwards, while swinging her lance before her and taking out two risen at once. Unfortunately for Brady, Cynthia happened to fall into that extremely reckless category. He watched as she stumbled a bit when she landed on the ground, but recovered in time to deflect an attacking risen's sword. Brady cringed, and a worried look settled on his face. He caught some sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, and when he realized what it was, his legs moved before he could think as he sprinted in Cynthia's direction, ignoring the startled shouts of his mother and the other healers behind him.

He saw as the entombed sunk to the ground before the gross mass began moving quickly in Cynthia's direction. Brady's heart beat rapidly in his chest as he moved to intercept his attack. Cynthia was too focused on the risen that she was currently fighting to notice the danger that she was in, and any attempts to warn her verbally fell onto deaf ears. He made it just as the the entombed reemerged from the ground and readied his claws to strike at Cynthia's vulnerable back.

"Over here, stupid!" Brady yelled as he swung his staff as hard as he could at the monster, cracking it upside the head. Unfortunately, his staff was not made to give out blunt force trauma, and the impact caused the head to snap off and shatter, leaving Brady holding the splintered remains. Brady was also lacking in physical strength, so he wasn't able to do much of anything to the entombed besides enrage it. The monster's red eyes bore into him as it made Brady his new target. Brady cringed as he managed to block one of the entombed's clawed hands with the remains of his staff, but it's other hand cut upwards, ripping through Brady's robes. He was able to moved back enough so that his chest and abdomen remained unscathed, but a blighted claw caught his lower arm and cut through his skin a muscle, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Brady!"

He stumbled backwards and clutched at his badly bleeding arm as Cynthia rushed passed him, impaling the entombed though the chest with her lance. Brady panted heavily as he blinked away tears of pain, his vision blurring. He looked down at his hand that was covering his wound, and blood was oozing out between his fingers. He slowly removed his hand from the wound and retched when he spied his bone peaking through his ripped up flesh. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed to the ground, dizziness filling his consciousness. Cynthia's voice yelling his name again before darkness consumed him and he passed out.

* * *

"Ah jeez Ma, quite yer fussn'! I'm fine!"

"No! You almost lost your arm, Brady! That is not fine!"

Brady glowered at Maribelle from his cot in the medial tent. He had finally woken up after passing out on the battlefield, and he really wasn't in the mood to be lectured by his mother. His wounded arm was bandaged heavily and resting in a sling. Cynthia's well being was on his mind, rather than his own, but see as she wasn't occupying one of the cots in the medical tent like he was, he could safely assume that she was unharmed.

"Just what were you thinking, charging at an entombed with nothing but a staff? Are you daft?" Maribelle lectured as she glared at her future son, who adverted his gaze to stare down at his good hand that was clenched into a fist.

"Um, Maribelle? Maybe we should let him rest. He did lose a lot of blood." Ricken finally said, placing a gentle hand on Maribelle's shoulder. She sighed and nodded.

"Alright." Maribelle said, taking Ricken's hand in hers. She turned to Brady an managed a small smile. "I am glad that you are alright, dear. I am sorry for yelling at you. You...just had me worried, that is all." Brady's eyes became misty as he blinked away the tears.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Ma. Really. You too Pa." Brady said quietly, biting his lip as a wave of shame coursed through his gut. He didn't say it out loud, but he would not hesitate to repeat his actions if it meant saving Cynthia again.

"Rest well dear." Maribelle said as she and Ricken left the tent. Brady sighed and leaned back until his head touched his pillow, and he closed his eyes, letting his exhaustion win as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Brady yawned as consciousness returned to him, and he had to blink a few times to waken up fully. He turned his head and was surprised to find that Cynthia was sitting in a chair next to his bed. Her hand was gripping his uninjured one as she dozed off, her head lolling to one side as she breathed softly. Brady managed a small smile. He was so glad that she was alright. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and Cynthia's head suddenly jerked up, her eyes opening and locking with his.

"Oh Brady! You're awake!" Cynthia exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. Relief washed over her in waves. When she had turned around during that battle and saw his arm gushing blood, she had been horrified. When he had collapsed in front of her, she had never been so scared in her entire life. Having him awake again made her feel so much better.

"Hey Cynthia. Glad to see you're alright." Brady said, grinning slightly.

"Well yeah, I'm fine. You're the one we were all worried about." Cynthia responded, a broad smiled crossing her face. "Thank you for saving me Brady! You were so cool!"

"Aw, it was nothin'..." Brady said, a blush forming on his face. Cynthia giggled.

"Hehe! Whatever you say! I guess I need to work on that entrance flourish some more." Cynthia began rambling. Brady frowned. There was that recklessness of hers coming out again, the same that had gotten them into this mess.

"Cynthia..." Brady began, but Cynthia was too busy rambling to hear him.

"Ooh, maybe a front flip would be better than a back one, I could probably stick the landing then..."

"Cynthia."

"Or I could forget the flip altogether and instead-"

"Cynthia! Listen!" Brady yelled, his emotions finally boiling over. Cynthia's breath caught in her throat at the outburst, her eyes widening as she was stunned into silence.

"Gods damn it Cynthia, why d'ya haveta be so reckless all the time? When I saw that entombed headin' your way, I...I was so scared." Brady paused for a moment and sniffed as hot tears began running down his face. "I reacted without thinking. I...don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

Brady's soft crying quickly dissolved into sobs as he covered his face with his good hand. "I already had to go through the loss of my parents, and I kinda have them back now. But you Cynthia...you are irreplaceable to me. I don't think I could bare to lose the gal that I love."

Cynthia stared at Brady for a moment before she brought a hand to her face, tears filling her own eyes. She hadn't really stopped to think about how her reckless abandon when it came to battle would effect others, especially Brady. She had caused him emotional and physical pain, and she broke down sobbing as well as she pulled Brady into another hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I...I'm so sorry Brady. I didn't realize how much worry I was causing you. I'll try to be more careful from now on." Cynthia whispered, pulling her face away from his shoulder. She reached up and wiped the tears from his face, and he did the same for her with his good hand. "I love you too Brady. Lots and lots."

Brady chuckled softly, his hand lingering on Cynthia's face as he gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Jeez, I'm one lucky guy. Lucky that such a beautiful woman could ever love this ugly mug." he said, a grin crossing his face.

Cynthia giggled. "You have a certain rugged handsomeness, Brady. I think it's the scar." she teased, running a finger over said scar.

"Tch, the scar may be cool, but the story of how I got it sure isn't." Brady said, his face heating slightly as Cynthia's finger stopped at his jawline. She grinned and placed her fingers under his chin, lifting his head up slightly as she moved her face closer to his.

"It think it's a good story. Endearing even." she whispered as she leaned forward, pressing her lips softly against his. Brady smiled, his eyes sliding shut as he leaned into the kiss. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, and her arms came to rest around his neck. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused the two to part suddenly.

"Hmm, Ricken dear, should I maybe procure a book on how to properly romance a lady for our dear son?" Maribelle said from her spot at the tent entrance, a wicked grin spread across her face. Ricken let out an exasperated sigh and looked away sheepishly. A mortified look crossed Brady's face and Cynthia burst out laughing.

"Ah jeez Ma! No!" Brady groaned, but he couldn't help but laugh. He was happy. Happy that everyone he loved was alive in this timeline, and he would be fighting tooth and nail to keep it that way.


End file.
